I do not know what the rootstock is, are you sure these cannot be rootstock leaves?
In reading about Bearss lime on UCR CitrusVariety I came across this: "To date, all Persian lime trees are known to carry wood pocket, which can cause serious deterioration of the trees." Scientific name: lignocortosis. Searching around a bit more: "Characteristics of this disease are breakage or small defects on the bark of the tree. When you lift the bark, you can see that the bark underneath has become discolored. The tree can, unfortunately, die from this disease."
More: "The first evidence of the disease is generally a chimeralike variegation or blotching of the leaves (fig. 27A) . Frequently there is considerable chimeral striping of the fruit, especially of limes. The leaf color varies from only a slight loss of green to greenish-yellow to nearly pure yellow with diverse outlines. The disease apparently is a chimeral disorder which is seed- and bud-perpetuated but which is not transmissible by grafting. A short, narrow, irregular break in the bark of the trunk or limb is the first symptom on those parts (fig. 27B). The wood underneath discolors in definite regions even before this bark symptom appears. This led to the name wood pocket or lignocortosis. Elongated areas of dead, fissured bark, 1 inch to several feet in length, form on one side of the branches or on portions of the trunk. Wood underneath becomes irregularly discolored and darkly dotted in longitudinal view. Branches lose their leaves and die back gradually, or the leaves wilt suddenly as the branches die." From "VIRUS AND VIRUSLIKE DISEASE OF CITRUS" by KLOTZ, CALAVAN, WEATHERS.
The only thing that doesn't match is that I didn't see blotching of the leaves beforehand.
My biggest question is what I can plant in that spot... If it's really wood pocket I can put a new Bearss lime tree in (CCPP doesn't seem to have any other tahitian lime). If it's a root pathogen I'm in trouble...